Yoga Instruction

Q. Describe the most common types of jobs you do for your clients.

A. I teach 3 regular flow style classes each week while also offering corporate yoga at business locations, children's and teen yoga workshops as well as children's birthday parties. My most common style I teach is vinyasa or, flow, which is a style that focuses on form, key actions in the body, and linking breath to movement. Class format is taught in a flowing style moving from one pose to the next.

Q. What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

A. I would advise potential students to know what it is they seek from yoga. Do they want a physically challenging workout? Do they want a spiritual connection? Are they looking for a mental challenge? Maybe they seek emotional release or physical and mental relaxation or physical or emotional healing. It is best to approach the their search with an understanding of what they want from the teacher. this will allow the instructor to best customize the student's experience on the mat.

Q. If you were a customer, what do you wish you knew about your trade? Any inside secrets to share?

A. As a customer I would want people to know that yoga is NOT just for small flexible women. It is, in fact, for everyone, no matter the size, shape, gender, fitness level or even injury status. Yoga can heal injuries, help people lose weight, change body shape by creating lean and long muscles and can create a peace of mind like no other form of exercise. There are many styles of yoga, there's a style suited to everyBODY.

Q. Why does your work stand out from others who do what you do?

A. As a 13yr student of yoga, I have first hand experience with its benefits for the body and mind. As a former advertising/interactive marketing executive and mother of 2 young children, I fully understands the importance of scheduling some “me time” into a busy day. Yoga allows me to renew my body and mind so that I can approach life with energy and passion. I hope to bring each of my students the strength and peace I have found in yoga.

Q. What do you like most about your job?

A. The best part of being a yoga instructor, is the ability to bring balance to peoples lives physically, mentally and spiritually. Helping people find the balance of strength and flexibility in their bodies, eventually translates to strength and flexibility of the mind and spirit. Students can take the teachings they learn on the yoga mat with them throughout their lives off of the mat. Seeing the transformation of people's bodies and watching their confidence and mental clarity increase, is the best reward any teacher could receive. I love my job because people leave happy. It doesn't feel like work, and that's the best job ever! I'm living a dream by sharing yoga with others.

Q. What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?

A. The most commonly asked question is: "What's the point of yoga?" My answer is simple: "The point is balance." Not just literal balance, but balance in the overall sense of the word. As a student learns to balance on one leg, or even on their arms, they must listen to their breath and make a body-mind connection, thus balancing the two. As the physical strength/flexibility improves, thus does the physical balance. As students achieve more depth to their poses, they concurrently achieve more control over steadying their breath and the their minds. Taking that steadiness and focus with them off the mat can bring their daily interactions and achievements to a new level.

Q. Do you have a favorite story from your work?

A. I once had a 78yr old woman walk into my hot power yoga class and declare she must be in the wrong place. However, 3 months later, she was coming into headstands unassisted and had found a love for something she never thought she would enjoy. She thought she'd only be suited for "senior yoga" but with diligence, proper modifications for her body type and most importantly, a great sense of humor, she found a place for a style that was a bit more challenging. She then started practicing a more restorative form of yoga in addition to the power style, and told me that she was much more relaxed on a daily basis than she'd been since losing her husband a few years prior! Yoga can be so powerful!

Q. What do you wish customers knew about you or your profession?

A. I wish people knew that yoga is for anyone. It's not just for vegetarians or environmental activists; it's not just for athletes or "stretchy" people; and it's NOT just for women. Yoga can change lives.

Whether you're looking for a physical workout, mental challenge, emotional release, physical or mental relaxation or physical or emotional healing, there is a style of yoga for everyBODY and every mind. Yoga is not just for flexible folk! If you are not flexible or have an injury, you are the best candidate for yoga.

Inflexibility of the body and the mind can be transformed with time in a yoga practice. What style is best for you depends on your personality, your level of fitness, overall lifestyle and most important, your goals.

Find peace and balance of mind, body and spirit. Find yoga.

Q. How did you decide to get in your line of work?

A. As a former advertising/interactive marketing executive and mother of 2 young children, I fully understand the importance of scheduling some “me time” into a busy day. Yoga allows me to renew my body and mind so that I can approach life with energy and passion.

I discovered the benefits of a regular yoga practice in 1999 when I began practicing Bikram Yoga. After my first class I was hooked and began practicing 3-4 times a week.

Upon becoming pregnant with my first child in 2002, I wanted to continue my practice, but found the heat of a Bikram studio too intense. I also found it difficult to fit in time to commute to a studio. It was then that I got the idea to offer a traveling studio and began studying the teachings of B.K.S Iyengar.

After enjoying many years practicing in Iyengar’s style of yoga, I began trying others, including Baptiste, Pranavayu, ashtanga, Anusara and Kripalu, at various studios on the North Shore. I credits a daily practice for giving me the ability to manage stress, cope with the day-to-day trivia that comes with being a working mom to pre-school and grade school age children and generally feel more centered.

In 2009 I took my practice and my dream to the next level by entering YogaSpirit Studios’ teacher training program. This comprehensive 14 month certification process included an in depth study of the anatomy of poses, various alternatives and modifications for different body types, ailments and injuries, as well as a deep appreciation for the spiritual and healing aspects of yoga. It is with this training that I approach my instruction. I hopes to bring each of my students the strength and peace I have found in yoga.

*Kendra is a certified yogaspirit® teacher and is registered through the Yoga Alliance as a 200hr RYT

Q. Do you do any sort of continuing education to stay up on the latest developments in your field?

A. Though a teacher, I am also a lifelong student of yoga. I take classes in multiple styles, 3-4 times per week in addition to teaching 3 regular classes and my own specialty workshops each week. I also take specialty workshops from master teachers and attend intensive weekend trainings to add new techniques to my training "tool kit."

Q. If you have a complicated pricing system for your service, please give all the details here.

A. Private instruction*:
$50/hr
$45/hr ($270) for series of 6 privates**

Semi-private rate*:
$30/pp/hr for groups of 2-4 students
$25/pp/hr for a series of 6 group classes**

Corporate rate:
$15/pp/hr (minimum 10 students)
$12/pp/hr for a series of 6-8 group classes

Birthday Parties:
$175 (for up to 10 children)
$12 for each additional child (up to a maximum of 15)

Specialty Workshops:
Priced individually

visit http://www.me-timeyoga.com for more information